A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdiscipl ....A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdisciplinary projects which link the humanities to the sciences. Furthermore, with the project's anchoring in the humanities, there is hope that a focus on, and increased understanding of, depression will have flow-on effects in the Australian community that will help ease the stigmatisation that is still felt by many of its sufferers.Read moreRead less
Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function ....Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function, and aims to use this theory to determine which theories of consciousness can be defended and which rejected. The anticipated outcome is a unified scientific and theoretical approach to consciousness, achieving a deeper and more integrated understanding of a major field of contemporary neuroscience and philosophy research.Read moreRead less
Measuring the Mind: A Framework for Building a Consciousness Meter . This project aims to develop a new framework for measuring consciousness. The lack of well-validated measures of consciousness is at the root of a methodological crisis in the science of consciousness. Drawing on work in the philosophy of science and mind, the project plans to investigate whether consciousness can be measured in the way that other natural properties can be measured. The results of this project may inform guidel ....Measuring the Mind: A Framework for Building a Consciousness Meter . This project aims to develop a new framework for measuring consciousness. The lack of well-validated measures of consciousness is at the root of a methodological crisis in the science of consciousness. Drawing on work in the philosophy of science and mind, the project plans to investigate whether consciousness can be measured in the way that other natural properties can be measured. The results of this project may inform guidelines for the objective assessment of consciousness in the context of post-coma brain injury, anaesthesia, epileptic absence seizures, infancy and non-human animals.Read moreRead less
The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in th ....The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in the physical world. Expected outcomes include best-practice guidelines for dream research and a model of open data-sharing for consciousness science. Anticipated benefits include deeper understanding of how and why everyone dreams, the role of dreams in waking life, and their impact on sleep quality and well-being.Read moreRead less
Conscious states in conscious creatures: A philosophical framework for the science of consciousness. Consciousness is a major research focus world-wide. Though Australia is well represented in the field, comparatively few Australian researchers have ventured into the philosophy of consciousness science. This project will consolidate Australian research scholarship in this foundational area of philosophy, and will also contribute to the emergence of an experimental science of consciousness. An un ....Conscious states in conscious creatures: A philosophical framework for the science of consciousness. Consciousness is a major research focus world-wide. Though Australia is well represented in the field, comparatively few Australian researchers have ventured into the philosophy of consciousness science. This project will consolidate Australian research scholarship in this foundational area of philosophy, and will also contribute to the emergence of an experimental science of consciousness. An understanding of consciousness is important for understanding a number of national health concerns such as schizophrenia, coma and epilepsy. This is a project in the philosophical foundations of consciousness science, but it has some potential to inform new research and therapeutic strategies in these areas.Read moreRead less
Mereological Composition and Material Constitution. This project embodies a number of advances in metaphysics, which is a field of research in which Australia enjoys a considerable international reputation. Our work on material constitution will also further Australia's reputation in the philosophy of mind; some of the most celebrated 20th Century contributions in the philosophy of mind have been written by Australian philosophers.
The Epistemology of Colour Vision. This project will advance knowledge on the important traditional philosophical topic of colour and colour perception by drawing both on philosophical and scientific sources. The problem of colour is one to which Australian philosophy has made seminal contribution. For this reason, this project will continue to develop an Australian expertise in the area and help to make Australia a world centre of research in the area.
Semantics, externalism and a priori truths. This project aims to discover more about the logical roots of a priori knowledge. Pure mathematicians and logicians discover truths which are not justified by inference from observations; philosophers traditionally have aspired to do likewise. Yet little is understood about what makes a priori knowledge possible. There is a growing branch of logic which studies what is known as "double indexing" and this promises to throw light on the a priori. Austral ....Semantics, externalism and a priori truths. This project aims to discover more about the logical roots of a priori knowledge. Pure mathematicians and logicians discover truths which are not justified by inference from observations; philosophers traditionally have aspired to do likewise. Yet little is understood about what makes a priori knowledge possible. There is a growing branch of logic which studies what is known as "double indexing" and this promises to throw light on the a priori. Australian philosophers have played a very salient role in the study of double indexing, and this project is well placed to make significant contributions in this area.Read moreRead less
Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce t ....Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce the impact of biological, social and environmental factors which diminish life potential in drug addicted persons. The innovative features of this project will enhance Australia's international reputation in bioethics and moral psychology, extend the reach of experimental philosophy, and facilitate future interdisciplinary work.Read moreRead less
Philosophical progress. Understanding the nature and possibility of progress in philosophy will shed light not only on philosophy as a funded research discipline within the university system in Australia, but also on the nature of research within the humanities and social sciences more generally.